Atlanta Spinstering: Binders

On the way home from work on Monday I heard a reporter on NPR talking about the Pulitzer Prize winners for 2014. Among the winners, of course, is Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch , which has been on my Audible wish list for some weeks. And, since I had a credit for a free audio book, I started listening to The Goldfinch on Tuesday morning. So far, I am thoroughly engrossed, though I admit that I feel torn about listening to it instead of reading it. But, as we’ve discussed before, reading without a subway commute is proving to be troublesome.

The Goldfinch, in conjunction with a large-scale drawing I recently started, made the need and urge to visit one of Atlanta’s best art stores, Binders, all but imperative yesterday during my lunch break. And so I went, and it was wonderful.

For a person who likes to draw, there’s not much better in this world than a freshly sharpened bouquet of pencils and an unblemished pad of drawing paper. My specific needs were more skin-colored Prismacolors as well as an Indigo Blue or two, but I didn’t let that stop me from making a tour of the store, replete with every medium one could imagine. There are pencils, papers, paints, books, portfolios, canvases, frames, pastels, and even makeup if you’re that kind of artist. 

To give Binders a little more local flair, the aisles are named after streets in Atlanta, like Ashford Dunwoody, Pharr, and 400. On a back wall near the elevator, you can find a cork board with business cards of local artists as well as posting for classes and services offered. On the other side of the store, you’ll find a gallery, usually outfitted with some pretty impressive student art. 

If you ever find yourself in the Atlanta area in need of Art supplies, I highly suggest the draftsman’s paradise known as Binders. However, be forewarned: they do not actually carry three ring binders.

(pictured here: Top: White Prismacolors, Top Mid: Pink Pearl Erasers, Lower Mid: Canvas Framing, Bottom: Kneaded Erasers.)